Israel Take Drastic Action to Avoid FIFA and UEFA Bans
Israel is reportedly taking drastic action in a bid to avoid being banned from both UEFA and FIFA-sanctioned competitions.
Since the conflict between Israel and Palestine worsened in October 2023, there have been calls from several fans, public figures and nations to ban Israel from UEFA – European football’s governing body - and FIFA – world football’s governing body - sanctioned competitions, in a similar way to how Russia have been treated following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, despite more than 65,000 Palestinians having been killed during the conflict, Israeli clubs and the national team remain free to compete in UEFA and FIFA competitions.
Earlier this month, the United Nations (UN) commission of inquiry said that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
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As reported by BBC News, Israel’s foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report, claiming it was “distorted and false”.
More than 90 per cent of people have been displaced from their homes in Gaza since October 2023.
On Thursday, The Telegraph reported that Israel could be banned from European football in the coming weeks – a move which could see them thrown out of the 2026 World Cup.
The report claims that the “majority of UEFA executive committee members are in favour of suspending the Israel Football Association (IFA) and its clubs and that talks are planned with Fifa over the latter doing the same”.
The Trump administration will reportedly try to prevent FIFA from banning Israel from international football ahead of next summer’s tournament in North America, as per Sky News.
A state department spokesperson told Sky News: "We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel's national soccer team from the World Cup."
Then, on Friday, a report from The Times explained how Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is due to make a personal plea to world football’s leaders to prevent the nation from being banned by FIFA and UEFA.
UEFA is due to hold an emergency committee meeting next week to vote on potentially banning Israel.
Netanyahu is said to have made phone calls to senior figures in football in a bid to persuade them not to take action against Israel.
Trump is also understood to have warned FIFA president Gianni Infantino against the move.
A UEFA ban would essentially rule Israel out of the World Cup despite the competition being organised by FIFA, as UEFA rule the European qualifying phase, which Israel is part of.
Luke Davies